This application incorporates by reference Taiwanese application Serial No. 88120489, filed Nov. 24, 1999.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a method and apparatus for testing a processing circuit for signals from buttons of joysticks, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for testing the processing circuit, in the production line of personal computers (PCs) and games, for signals from buttons of joysticks.
2. Description of the Related Art
As PCs become more popular, joysticks have also become an increasingly popular peripheral for them. During the manufacturing of PC main boards, specific tests must be done in the production lines to test their functionality. The main boards passing these tests are then approved to be distributed to the customers. One of the most important tests involves the testing of the interfaces, including its related built-in circuits, which the main boards use to communicate with the joysticks.
For the test of the above-mentioned components, a PC manufacturer will commonly include a joystick testing stage within the production line. The tests utilizes a test tool to simulate the actions of the joystick. A joystick generally contains a X-coordinate position control, Y-coordinate position control, and two buttons, all of which are controlled by a user. Generally, only the main board circuits relating to the X- and Y-coordinate position controls are tested while those related to the buttons are not. As such, if the circuits relating to the buttons are to be tested, an additional joystick button testing stage will need to be installed into the production line. The new test will need to involve either directly connecting a joystick onto the main board and a tester operates the joystick for testing, or the development of a new test tool that simulates the actions of the joystick buttons. Regardless of the method employed, the testing of the main board components will be complicated and also result in a waste of time and manpower.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for testing the main board circuitry which processes the joystick button signals in an efficient manner. The invention is an improvement on the test tool currently used to test the circuits related to the X- and Y-coordinate position controls. In this way, the testing of the circuitry related to the joystick buttons can be completed during the testing of the position controls. The method is not only simple and inexpensive, but no additional time needs to be invested.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, an apparatus of testing a processing circuit for joystick buttons is provided. It is used for outputting the signals of a joystick buttons and that of the X- and Y-coordinate position controls into the processing circuit of a main board for testing. The processing circuit is coupled to the joystick by a connector, which contains M first pins. N pins of the M first pins are used for the connection of the processing circuit with the buttons. The apparatus contains a test tool with M second pins and a short-circuit node. The M second pins of the test tool correspond to the M first pins of the connector for the connection with the connector, wherein N pins of the M second pins corresponds to the N first pins of the connector. The short-circuit node is used as the common node of the N short-circuited second pins and is used to simulate the actions of the buttons.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method of testing a processing circuit for joystick buttons is provided. Signals of a number of joystick buttons and the X- and Y-coordinate position controls are outputted into the main board. The processing circuit on the main board is coupled to the joystick via a connector containing M first pins of which N pins are used for the joystick buttons. The method includes the steps as follows. First, the pins of the test tool, corresponding to the N pins of the connector, are shorted out. The test tool is then connected to the connector and the status values stored in the status register that corresponds to the joystick buttons are determined. Finally, the test tool is disconnected with the connector and the status values stored in the status register that corresponds to the buttons are determined again.